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Product category: Sawing and cutting-off machines and automation systems
News Release from: Kasto | Subject: Sawing, tube working and machining centre
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 23 April 2002

Novel machining centre to be shown as
well as saws

As well as sawing systems and tube processing equipment, Rivers Machinery will also show a novel machining centre at MACH 2002.

Sawing - on show for the first time in the UK will be the German-built Kasto WAC7 fully automatic circular sawing machine for mass production cut-to-length applications using either HSS solid or TCT (tungsten carbide tipped) blades up to 285 mm diameter Suitable for processing ferrous and non-ferrous metals in the diameter range 15 to 70 mm, the machine achieves short cycle times owing to its ability to optimise cutting speed (40 - 160 m/min) and infeed rate according to the material

Accuracy of cut is assured by the bar pusher carriage with measuring by an electrically controlled, hydraulically cushioned length gauge.

A device is optionally available that cuts the billet to a required volume or weight rather than to length.

Material is supplied to the saw by means of an inclined loading table, bundle loader or flat magazine.

Discharge of cut pieces is to suit customer preference and there are possibilities for interlinking with other machine tools.

Bandsaw model KASTOtec A4 will also be demonstrated.

Whilst suitable for use with bimetal blades, it has been developed for high production sawing using carbide tipped blades.

Sales of the latter are increasing year on year as manufacturers and stockholders find that extremely hard and carbon steels may be cut up to seven times faster than with conventional blades.

Even stainless steel may now be sawn without difficulty.

The semi- or fully-automatic machine has polymer concrete in the saw head to dampen vibrations and a twin column guide with linear slides on the ways.

Another innovation that avoids damage to the carbide tips during blade return is the facility to retract the bar slightly and displace the blade so that it travels back without touching the stock on either side.

This has the additional advantage of protecting the surface finish of the sawn faces.

New also is the control system that allows even novice users to extract the best performance from the machine after a very short learning curve.

Automatic selection of infeed and band speed (up to 120m/min) according to the material being cut avoids blunting the blade or ruining the part.

Even when the machine is operating unattended, monitoring of blade deviation, coolant flow and other functions prevents the cutting of scrap.

There are three machines in the KASTOtec range - A3, A4 and A5 - capable of cutting from 10mm diameter up to 330, 430 and 530mm diameter bar respectively.

Material feed in a single stroke is available at 600, 1500, or 3000mm and minimum cut length is 6mm.

Regardless of whether single bars or bundles are being cut, the minimum rest piece length of 35mm ensures minimal wastage of stock.

Installed weight for the largest machine is five and a quarter tonnes.

This reinforces the strength of the machine.

An extensive variety of material handling options is available from simple roller conveyors to a fully automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS).

Tube machining - representative components will be on show manufactured on modular transfer line equipment configured for economical, series production by Automazione Meccanica Industriale (AMI), Italy.

They are ideal for such items as chair frames, step ladders, bed frames, ironing boards and other mass produced products made from tube.

AMI transfer lines are generally operated by one person and produce finished components in one hit.

This avoids 'work in progress' when transferring components between several different machine operations.

The result is maximum output at minimal production costs, giving rapid payback on initial capital outlay.

Flexibility to reconfigure the lines in a matter of minutes to manufacture more than 20 different components within families of parts makes this equipment particularly versatile.

It meets today's trend for smaller batch production, allowing just-in-time delivery without having to hold expensive stock.

It also avoids obsolescence of the line due to changes in product design, which are becoming ever more frequent and extensive.

This method of production ensures component accuracy and repeatability even with complex designs.

AMI offers 10 per cent component checking as the final part of the operation if required.

Units available for incorporation into AMI lines cover a variety of processing functions including swaging, forming, flattening, punching, notching, threading, grooving, and knurling.

For very high volume production applications, lines are available for processing three tubes simultaneously.

Mandrel punching of tubes is covered by Apollo, Italy, whose products will be represented at the show.

Lines are available from simple manual load with automated feed to full CNC lines with bunker tube loading.

Punching machines are offered to complement the output required from the line.

Apollo offers stand-alone horizontal press units with a vast array of 'bolt-on tooling' that covers general engineering requirements.

Sheet punching and notching is also available from Apollo with a budget-priced CNC punching machine.

Another Italian tube processing specialist represented in the UK by Rivers is BEMA.

This year's MACH is eagerly awaited as last time two orders were taken that were not expected - an endworking machine for a truck manufacturer and a tube bending machine for a heat exchanger producer.

BEMA manufactures equipment for machining tubes up to 130mm diameter and offers an extensive range from stand-alone, manually-fed machines to fully automated lines.

The company's policy is to build standard machines with the option of various degrees of automation.

In this way, the customer enjoys the flexibility of a bespoke solution yet retains the option to reconfigure the machines to suit a different family of components.

Tube bending and end working machines that are loaded and unloaded by the operator form the mainstay of the BEMA portfolio.

The next stage is to employ an automatic feeding mechanism for each machine.

Finally, the production units can be interconnected by robotic or other handling plant to automate the whole production process.

The finished product, in addition to being bent along its length with different radii, might be formed (swaged, flared, reduced, thread rolled) on both ends.

Additional operations can include turning, boring, thread cutting, tapping, grooving, chamfering, deburring; and press fitting of parts such as inserts, sockets, rings and nuts during the bending operations.

Latest equipment that featured prominently at EMO last September, and that will be represented with component examples at MACH 2002, is BEMA's 'Exhaust Line', comprising five new hydraulic tube manipulation machines specifically for motor vehicle exhaust pipe manufacture.

The equipment offers a wide range of tube bending and machining facilities covering applications from straightforward to highly complex.

Machining centres - the new Prestige machining centre manufactured by the Italian company, FOM, will be shown for the first time in the UK.

Of versatile design, the machine provides high productivity for complex machining tasks on long, narrow components produced in aluminium alloy.

Potential applications include wall cladding, aluminium fabrications for industrial use and long products.

The main feature of the machine is that it can work on three sides of the workpiece in cycle without repositioning.

The configuration is as a travelling column machine with all axes moving along the x axis table on linear recirculating ball screws.

A modular build strategy provides four table lengths offering X-axis travel from 1000mm to 7700mm combined with maximum Y-axis travel of 486mm and Z-axis travel of 272mm.

Workpiece clamping vices integrated onto the table have maximum capacity of 510mm.

Fabricated steel construction has resulted in a low mass design, reflected in rapid traverse speeds of 80m/min in X and 70m/min in Y and Z with 3m/sec2 acceleration in all axes.

A helical rack with backlash-free double pinion drive is used on the X axis with recirculating ballscrews on Y and Z.

A 9 kW spindle motor offers speeds in the range 0 to 12,000 rpm; an ISO 30 spindle is fitted, and tools are stored in a nine station magazine integrated within the travelling column.

An additional 20-position tool magazine is optional.

Maximum tool diameter is 220 mm and maximum length is 160 mm from the spindle end.

Control is by the PC-based Omega 811 CNC system which incorporates IDRA-CAM programming software.

This has been developed to make part program generation as easy as possible and incorporates graphic assistance via the 10 inch colour screen.

Included in the software are automatic optimisation features to minimise cycle times on components requiring repetition of operations.

New also is the FOM Flen CNC machining centre whose principle of operation and target markets are identical, and whose capacity is towards the top end of the Prestige range.

The simpler construction and 6- rather than 9-position tool magazine makes this machine a more cost-effective alternative.

Rivers has for some years carried out routine maintenance and breakdown repair of production machinery supplied by other vendors, as well as of its own equipment in the field.

The company will take the opportunity at MACH 2002 to promote new elements of the service side of its business, which further enhance the back-up it offers to UK manufacturing industry.

It is the comprehensiveness of the service it now offers that Rivers intends to stress.

Capabilities include a survey of machines on site and assessment of their condition, a maintenance contract comprising routine visits and a full service history for each machine, operator training backed by certification of competence, telephone support, provision of consumables, spares and custom-designed tooling, and in the case of sawing equipment, a 24-hour saw blade and lubricant supply and a blade sharpening service.

A recent innovation has been to offer decommissioning and reinstallation of machines at different factory sites - again, not just equipment that Rivers originally supplied.

Health and safety risk assessments may be carried out and necessary remedial action taken, such as installation of guards and interlocks.

The company will even provide a full consultancy and project management turnkey package, assessing a manufacturer's production requirement, then sourcing the equipment and undertaking design, build, installation, and pass-off.

Said Harvey Mead, Managing Director of Rivers, "Service is a rapidly growing business and we want to capitalise on it.

Increased interest and activity are being fuelled by higher expectations in the modern marketplace as well as the need for manufacturers to meet ISO 9000 standards and comply with Health and Safety requirements.

"Poorly maintained equipment is not only less productive than it should be, but loses value faster and can be a death trap.

Employers which cannot show a service history to prove that their machinery has been regularly maintained can be liable to heavy fines and even imprisonment if an accident occurs, so they ignore service at their peril.

The same applies if they have neglected to train their operators adequately so we offer on site training as part of the package." Additional engineers have been recruited to cope with the anticipated increase in workload and a new computer system has been installed at Rivers' Southampton headquarters to keep track of all the activities.

MACH 2002 - NEC Birmingham - April 28 - May.

Hall 5.

Stand 5309.

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